


[Oldfic] Giving and Receiving

by TheFanficMaster



Series: Old fanfics [5]
Category: Pandora Hearts
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-15
Updated: 2016-09-15
Packaged: 2018-08-15 05:03:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8043589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFanficMaster/pseuds/TheFanficMaster
Summary: [Oldfic] What Alice did with the scarf after leaving Cheshire's dimension.





	[Oldfic] Giving and Receiving

Even after so long, Alice still wasn't entirely sure why she kept it. It had been an unconscious decision after returning from Cheshire's dimension, exhausted and frightened, nearly being apprehended by Pandora in the process. At the end of the day, before joining Raven with her unconscious manservant, she'd hidden it from view to ponder later and consequently, forgotten about it.

Well, it was later now—very much later, in fact. And now she was in her assigned room at the Rainsworth's, sitting on her bed and pouting at the piece of cloth sitting innocently on the bedspread in front of her.

Honestly, that stupid clown! What was she supposed to do with something so useless? And why on Earth did she feel the need to hide it? Oz and Gilbert hadn't noticed it or questioned it in Cheshire's dimension, but for some reason she still didn't feel entirely comfortable wearing it in front of them. It was like she was expecting criticism, but there was nothing to be criticized for.

Growing more frustrated with the entire situation by the second, Alice reached out her right leg and attentively poked the offending scarf with the tip of her white boot. She wasn't stupid by any means—she knew what the whole concept of a gift was and all that jazz that was supposed to come along with it. Sharon had explained it to her in very explicit detail, going farther than Alice personally really needed or wanted to know, but that was pretty typical of the Rainsworth heir. However, even after knowing all of this, Alice still didn't particularly want the gift. The scarf had been warm, but the season no longer called for it and she wasn't sure if she'd live to see the next one…

Alice frowned, irritated. "Damn that clown for making me think about useless things like this…I should give him a piece of my mind!"

And so, with that intention, Alice scooped up the infuriating piece of clothing that started this whole mess in the first place and headed down the hall to the stairs. She was wary about running into one of the mansion's maids because she didn't want to be seen going to the clown's room under any circumstances, but luckily the hallway seemed to be deserted enough. Although it didn't really sink in until she began her trek down the stairway that she wasn't exactly sure which room was Break's because honestly, what other reason would she ever have to seek him out? However, she did know that the males of the household resided on the bottom floor. Alice didn't really understand this rule, finding it useless and irritating, but Sharon was firm and insistent that Alice room up on the upper floor with her instead of below with Oz and Gilbert.

" _I must protect your innocence from those damned wolves!"_

Alice scoffed at the memory because _really,_ what on Earth was that supposed to mean?

It didn't even occur to the illustrious B-Rabbit until she reached her destination on the bottom floor that Break might not even be in his room, which would leave her stranded and walking around the mansion with his embarrassing scarf in hand.

Completely frustrated and wondering why she was even bothering herself with such a mundane task, Alice continued down the hallway, unconsciously sniffing the air. She could smell Oz and Gilbert's distinct scents close by and—she shuddered silently—the faint scent of Vincent Nightray. He wasn't a common sight in the household, so Alice could only assume that it was a faint trace left over from that night months ago when he'd come in to take shelter from the rain. She didn't know why, but Vincent Nightray frightened her a little, not that she would ever admit that out loud to anyone, let alone Raven or Oz.

As she made her way farther down the hallway, she picked up the scents of Sharon and her Grandmother Cheryl, of whom she'd only ever spoken with on a few occasions. There was also another distinctly feminine scent that she couldn't identify; making her wonder if there was another woman living in the house that she hadn't met. It wasn't until she reached the final door in the hallway that she finally caught the smell of the man she was looking for.

She was half-tempted to just kick down the door and be done with it after all the trouble she'd been through, but decided after she picked her foot off the ground that it simply wasn't worth it and settled for roughly pushing the door open instead.

"Oi, clown!"

He was asleep.

Alice frowned once more—that's right, he was still recovering from the incident at Yura's mansion. He'd woken up already, but it had been foolish to assume that he was completely healed after the injuries he had received in battle. Not to mention that he'd obviously overused his chain. She and Oz had heard the whole story from Raven after returning from the party, although she had a feeling that Oz had only absorbed half of it, if even that. He was too busy at the time thinking about that Nightray boy who died…what was his name again? Ah yes, it was Elliot—the boy who'd smelled like a chain. If only she'd recognized it in time…

Shaking her head, Alice's scowl deepened as she glared down at the sleeping man. She moved to toss the scarf at his face and wake him, but was unable to hold on to her anger as she observed his shaky breaths and pale face.

"Damn it, you're so annoying!" Alice growled before hesitantly tucking the scarf around his neck as best as she could without actually waking him before turning around to leave, feeling the tiniest bit better now that the scarf was no longer in her hands.

"Didn't the glasses man say that you shouldn't worry people? Stupid."

She was unaware however, of the unseeing red eye that followed her out of the room. Xerxes Break chuckled softly to himself with amusement at her exclamation, tracing the fabric of the scarf as he pulled it tighter around his neck. "You always surprise me, Alice-kun."

And so, Alice departed from the room, unaware of the warmed heart she left in her wake, her own gift to the tired Hatter.


End file.
